Immortal Druid

The sky burned with crimson and golden fire.

For hours, the celestial phenomenon remained suspended above the world like a crown forged by gods. Vast spirals of flaming light revolved across the heavens, weaving around the atmosphere in magnificent rings that stretched beyond the horizon. The radiance bathed mountains, oceans, deserts, and kingdoms alike beneath an otherworldly glow that refused to fade even as day continued onward.

Only when the sun finally neared the horizon did the flames gradually disperse.

Every mortal beneath the heavens witnessed it.

Most prominent of all were the denizens of the Earthly Heart Continent, where the battle had unfolded. Across countless kingdoms and sect territories, fear quietly spread through the hearts of rulers and cultivators alike. Ancient records spoke of calamities accompanying the return of immortals. To many, the phenomenon resembled an omen announcing that the era of stability was nearing its end.

In palaces and hidden mountain sects, diviners exhausted themselves attempting to decipher the changing tides of fate. Great observatories activated ancient telescopes capable of peering through the atmosphere itself while scholars buried themselves within forbidden archives. Some sought answers through astrology. Others attempted mathematical calculations based on heavenly trajectories. None could arrive at a complete conclusion.

Still, everyone understood one thing.

Something had changed.

The nations feared upheaval. The sects feared war. The clans feared that the balance of power maintaining the world for countless generations was beginning to fracture.

Yet not all welcomed the signs with dread.

A rare few gazed upon the burning skies with excitement stirring in their veins. To them, chaos represented opportunity. Every great age in history had been born amidst disorder. New paths emerged only after the old ones shattered apart.

Hidden immortals who had long secluded themselves from worldly affairs slowly opened their eyes one after another. Ancient beings who once dreamed of ascending into a higher realm began quietly observing the shifting flow of fate. Some considered emerging from hiding entirely. Others chose patience, merely watching to see whether this disturbance would blossom into destiny or disaster.

Meanwhile, most beasts and ordinary lifeforms across the mortal world simply regarded the celestial phenomenon as beautiful lights decorating the sky.

In distant civilizations hidden beyond remote domains, the phenomenon was not even visible at all.

Many misunderstood what had transpired.

Only the rarest few truly comprehended its meaning.

And those who understood began preparing.

Because the image of a Fairy King triumphantly overcoming an Immortal would forever become engraved into history as the trumpet heralding the dawn of a new era.

An Age of Chaos.

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[POV: Zhen Ai]

The sacred forest remained untouched despite everything that had occurred.

Not a single tree had burned. Not one beast had perished.

The miraculous protection blanketing the region came from the transformation of the forest itself. Ever since it had become a sacred ground, the land possessed strange properties that shielded and nourished all life within it. Zhen Ai had contributed to those changes through her Dragon Dance, yet she understood better than anyone that the true source behind the miracle was Wo Li.

His very existence altered the world around him.

“It’s so pretty, Mom,” Tao Wolong cried out while staring at the crimson and golden heavens with wide sparkling eyes.

Zhen Ai followed his gaze and smiled faintly.

“It is,” she admitted softly.

Dark silhouettes suddenly descended from above.

A murder of crows swept across the sky before settling onto the massive branches nearby. At their forefront stood Old Crow while Willow landed beside him, feathers puffed up irritably.

“We cannot continue wandering aimlessly like this,” Old Crow declared. “The Sage must nurture himself first. Only then can he ascend higher.”

Willow immediately snapped back, “And abandon the forest? This sacred ground is still growing. If properly nurtured now, it could become a divine sanctuary in the future.”

“The Sage’s growth takes priority!”

“The forest’s growth supports the Sage!”

Their argument escalated almost instantly.

Zhen Ai pinched the bridge of her nose before finally intervening.

“What exactly is the problem now?” she asked tiredly.

Old Crow spread his wings dramatically. “I merely stated the obvious. The Sage should focus inward and cultivate himself.”

Willow huffed indignantly. “And I said the forest should be nurtured while its spiritual veins remain active. A sacred ground like this could change the fate of entire continents.”

Tao Wolong tugged lightly at Zhen Ai’s sleeve.

“Mom, why are they arguing?”

“It’s going to be okay,” Zhen Ai remarked helplessly. “Don’t mind them.”

An enormous black serpent resting nearby finally lifted his head.

“Enough.”

The simple word instantly silenced both birds.

Old Crow glanced downward. “Then what do you think, Old Black?”

“Yes,” Willow added quickly. “What is your opinion?”

Old Black stared at them blankly.

“How would I know?” the serpent replied. “I am not the Sage.”

Before anyone could continue, another voice suddenly thundered across the clearing.

“ISN’T IT OBVIOUS?!”

Everyone turned.

Roo stood upright atop a massive boulder, his tail slamming heavily against the ground with excitement.

“THE MASTER OF THE FOREST MUST FIND A MATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO HIS RUNTS CAN BECOME MY SPARRING PARTNERS!”

An awkward and suffocating silence descended.

Then Old Black slowly nodded.

“He has a point,” the serpent admitted thoughtfully. “I believe the Sage is not entirely human. His lineage is clearly divine considering his mere presence enriches the forest itself. If he produced offspring…” The snake’s golden eyes gleamed faintly. “Just imagine it. Lots of baby Sages.”

Old Crow’s eyes brightened immediately.

“Perhaps if I rediscover the passage to his old world,” he muttered, “we could entice a few elves to come here so one or two can become his mate.”

Willow blinked in confusion.

“Old world? You know of such a place?”

Old Crow puffed his chest smugly.

“I suppose I am not only wiser than you, but more knowledgeable as well.”

The owl looked deeply offended.

Zhen Ai stared at the group with disbelief.

Their thoughts were strangely purehearted and selfish at the same time. They genuinely wished for Wo Li’s happiness and growth, yet they were also openly discussing using him to strengthen the forest further through children.

Personally, she thought the man deserved proper rest after everything he had endured.

Then Tao Wolong innocently asked the most disastrous question imaginable.

“Mom… what is a mate?”

Zhen Ai froze.

Unfortunately, Willow answered before she could stop her.

“In simple biological terms,” the owl began matter-of-factly, “mating is a reproductive process where the male inserts his reproductive organ into the female reproductive organ in order to fertilize—”

“WILLOW!” Zhen Ai nearly shouted.

The owl tilted her head in confusion.

“What? The child asked.”

Zhen Ai felt her face burning crimson.

How was this owl so intelligent yet somehow completely lacking in emotional awareness?!

Tao Wolong looked thoughtful for a moment before turning innocently toward his mother.

“So if a boy puts his peepee into a girl’s peepee… they can make a baby?”

Zhen Ai wanted the earth to swallow her whole.

…

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[POV: Li Qing]

Li Qing silently read the report in her hands.

The room remained quiet save for the soft rustling of paper and the distant sound of rain beyond the pavilion windows. Several spirit lamps illuminated the chamber with a warm golden glow, yet the atmosphere still felt strangely cold.

The report detailed the situation concerning Senior Wo Li.

Every line made Li Qing’s expression grow increasingly grave.

A soft knock echoed from outside before Li Ming carefully entered the room.

Her granddaughter hesitated briefly before asking, “Grandmother… what is the status of the Sage?”

Li Qing lowered the report slightly.

“The latest information states that Senior Wo Li became lost in another domain after the battle,” she answered. “However, he recently managed to contact one of the old outposts belonging to the Willow Order there.”

Li Ming quietly released a sigh of relief.

“At least he’s alive.”

“Yes,” Li Qing murmured. “Alive.”

Weeks passed.

More reports arrived one after another, each heavier than the last.

The comprehensive investigation into the destruction of the Serenity Cliff Sect eventually landed upon Li Qing’s desk. She spent nearly an entire night reading through the testimonies, divination methods, and spiritual residue analyses collected from the ruins.

The details rattled her deeply. Not one survivor remained. The once flourishing sect had been reduced into a graveyard.

Even Guo Yupin was dead.

Li Qing closed her eyes for a long moment after reaching that section of the report.

Her old friend had survived countless conflicts throughout their lives. Together, they had witnessed political upheavals, sect wars, demonic invasions, and the rise and fall of geniuses thought destined to dominate entire eras.

Yet in the end, he still died like countless others beneath the storm unleashed by immortals.

The realization left a bitter taste in her mouth.

A few more days passed before news of the Serenity Cliff Sect’s demise fully spread throughout the Serenity Lake Domain.

The entire region shook.

Without one of the major sects maintaining the balance of power, countless smaller factions immediately began moving beneath the surface. Opportunists emerged from every direction, each seeking territory, resources, spiritual veins, or influence left behind in the power vacuum.

The Willow Order acted swiftly to suppress instability within the domain itself, but outside forces soon began inserting themselves into the situation.

Both righteous and wicked factions arrived. Some came under banners of aid and reconstruction. Others barely bothered disguising their greed. Everyone wanted a slice of the Serenity Lake Domain.

Fortunately, reinforcements soon arrived as well.

The Steel Sky Sect rapidly dispatched cultivators into the region to support the Serenity Cliff Sect and the Willow Order. Considering the longstanding collective security agreements between their allied sects and organizations, their actions were unsurprising.

The Stone Spire Sect also sent representatives. Though their intentions were hardly altruistic. Still, their assistance proved genuine enough.

Li Qing understood why.

The Stone Spire Sect respected Senior Wo Li tremendously after recent events. Even if political interests motivated part of their involvement, they still viewed supporting the Serenity Lake Domain as honoring a man who had risked everything to protect it.

Li Qing slowly folded the report shut.

The world was changing.

And the terrifying part was that this was only the beginning.

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[POV: Guo Yimu]

“Are you okay, buddy?”

Guo Yimu stared blankly ahead while the words reached his ears like distant echoes. It was already the third time Wo Li had asked him that question during the journey.

The young man’s lips trembled faintly, yet no answer came.

After a moment, Wo Li sighed softly.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “You don’t have to be okay. But you must stay strong, okay?”

Guo Yimu lowered his head. Strong. The word felt hollow. He remembered everything. Every scream. Every death. Every moment his own body moved against his will, while his soul remained trapped helplessly inside himself like a prisoner forced to watch through borrowed eyes.

With every bone in his body, Guo Yimu wished he had died instead.

But Wo Li had brought him back.

The problem was that Guo Yimu no longer knew whether that was mercy or cruelty.

Dark bags lingered beneath his dull eyes while his lips remained cracked and dry from days of barely speaking. His once lively demeanor had vanished completely, leaving behind only exhaustion and emptiness.

“You should drink some water,” Wo Li said gently.

A bamboo flask was offered toward him.

Guo Yimu accepted it silently before taking several weak sips.

The water tasted clean and cool, yet even that simple sensation felt strangely distant.

When they eventually arrived at Leafhome City, Guo Yimu found himself unable to even pretend to be normal anymore. Normally, he would have cracked jokes or acted shamelessly to ease tension. Now he could barely muster the energy to speak.

Everywhere he looked, he saw reflections.

Store windows.

Water basins.

Polished metal.

And every time he saw himself, nausea twisted violently within his stomach.

His hair had grown long and disheveled. His body no longer felt like his own. It felt violated. His hands trembled uncontrollably. He should have been the victim. Then why did he still feel guilty? Why did the faces of those murdered by his stolen body continue haunting him every time he closed his eyes?

Inside his room at the inn, Guo Yimu finally broke.

He collapsed beside the bed while muffled sobs escaped his throat.

Of course, he did not kill those people. It was not him. It was that monster. That thief. That sick bastard. Then why? Why did Lu Jing not simply destroy his soul entirely? Why force him to watch everything? Was it some cruel requirement of his cultivation technique? Some twisted pleasure? Some strategic advantage? Or was Lu Jing simply a monster who enjoyed suffering?

Guo Yimu buried his face into his trembling hands.

Hatred churned violently within him. Hatred toward Lu Jing. Hatred toward himself. Hatred toward the helpless weakness that still clung to him.

Eventually, his gaze drifted toward the dresser nearby.

A knife rested there. His breathing slowed. For several long moments, he stared at it silently. The temptation felt overwhelming. One thrust. One moment. And everything would finally end. But in the end, Guo Yimu slowly looked away.

No.

That was the coward’s path.

His trembling hand instead reached toward the blade for a different reason. Several hours later, strands of long hair littered the floor around him. Guo Yimu stared silently at his reflection. His head was completely shaved clean. His appearance now looked harsh, almost monk-like.

He no longer resembled the carefree scoundrel he used to be.

Perhaps that person had died already.

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[POV: Li Ming]

When Li Ming arrived at the place where the Serenity Cliff Sect once stood, she almost failed to recognize it.

There was nothing left.

The towering cliffside that had once housed the great sect had been cleaved apart entirely, as though some heavenly blade had descended from the sky and split the top of the cliff. Massive chunks of shattered earth and broken architecture littered the enormous lake below, the very body of water said to be the origin behind the Serenity Lake Domain’s name.

A gigantic thorn-covered vine sprawled across the ruined landscape like a dead dragon, fracturing the earth wherever it touched. Entire sections of the mountain had collapsed inward. Spiritual formations lay broken. Craters scarred the surroundings while lingering blood soaked into the soil beneath their feet.

Then Li Ming saw the bodies.

Some hung impaled upon shattered branches. Others floated lifelessly within the water below. The smell hit her immediately. Her stomach churned violently. Li Ming abruptly turned aside and vomited onto the ground.

The destruction was too overwhelming and grotesque.

It was so terrible that she could not even imagine this place ever being restored again. Her breathing trembled while she forced herself to stand upright. Then her gaze shifted toward Xing Ning nearby. He looked different now. More mature and sharper.

The youthful impulsiveness he once carried had dulled considerably. Though his face remained calm, a faint frown lingered between his brows while he silently observed the devastation around them.

Guo Yimu looked even worse.

The bald young man stood deathly pale while staring at the remains of his sect. His body swayed faintly as though he might collapse at any moment, yet somehow he remained standing.

Li Ming knew what happened to him.

Her grandmother had privately explained everything. How Guo Yimu had been possessed. How he had been forced to watch helplessly while the monster wearing his body slaughtered his own sect brothers and sisters.

The mere thought horrified her.

Once upon a time, the three of them, Xing Ning, Guo Yimu, and herself, had been among the first people to live beside the Sage. They knew one another well enough to laugh together naturally.

Now, things felt different.

Like some invisible wall had formed between the past and present.

Wo Li stepped forward while surveying the ruins quietly.

“Everyone,” he called out toward the cultivators accompanying them, “begin collecting the bodies and gather them together respectfully. Be careful around unstable structures. Some parts of the terrain may still collapse.”

The cultivators immediately acknowledged the order before dispersing throughout the ruins.

Li Ming watched the scene unfold with complicated emotions.

Cultivators wearing robes of different colors and sect emblems worked side by side despite belonging to entirely different organizations. Some came from allied factions. Others belonged to sects that once competed politically with the Serenity Cliff Sect.

Yet now they cooperated together in silence amidst the ruins.

Li Ming eventually approached Wo Li hesitantly.

“Senior,” she called softly.

Wo Li turned toward her.

She raised her hand slightly as spiritual energy shimmered faintly around her fingertips.

“I have better control over my Shén powers now,” she explained. “I can access much larger reserves of qi than before. If you need it… I can lend you my energy.”

Wo Li blinked briefly before smiling gently.

“I’d appreciate that,” he said sincerely.

Relief quietly appeared on Li Ming’s face. Even now, despite standing amidst death and ruin, Senior Wo Li still carried that same warmth that made others instinctively trust him.

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